Only an immensely talented illustrator could accept a challenge from a friend, and adapt his style so masterfully. This was exactly the case with Russian illustrator/designer/art director Viktor Miller-Gausa. He never really earned his stripes as a cartoonist per se, but when a friend said he could not draw a caricature, Miller-Gausa honed his skills by creating incredible portraits for 31 days of both his friends, and familiar celebrity faces. Here’s a sampling of Miller-Gausa’s awesome work.

In honor of the Oscars, which happened just a few days ago, we thought we’d take a look at the stellar nominee posters featured throughout the broadcast. The Mill, visual effects, animation and design studio with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, created these fantastic pieces, along with other elements of the show package, including Nomination and In Memoriam sequences. These posters are really quite beautiful and capture the essence of each film. They work well on their own, as still posters, and even better when sequenced together for the broadcast. Fantastic work! Below are just Best Picture nominees, check out their blog for many more.